I make books.
I came to publishing out of a love for books. I don’t hold degrees in the subject areas I acquire, but I try to read a lot—across subjects and styles. In my daily work I care most about bringing fresh ideas and underrepresented voices into the fold, as well as needed resources to students and scholars.
My background: I signed on as a senior acquisitions editor acquiring the Biology list at Oxford University Press in 2023. In my role I acquire upper-level textbooks and adoptable books, some reference books and monographs, and a select list of trade (“popular-ish science”) and crossover books. Head here if you’d like to learn more about those different book types and some other random publishing stuff that may or may not be useful to you.
Prior to my time at OUP, in reverse order, I started my career in publishing at the MIT Press as an acquisitions assistant working on Economics, Finance, and Business. From there I worked as an assistant editor on the New Media, Game Studies, and Design lists before taking on work as an associate editor acquiring titles in Digital Media and Learning. I then took a gap year and worked as a freelance manuscript editor for various clients, including MITP. I returned to MITP as an assistant editor on the STS and Information Science and Communication lists in 2014. Shortly after, I was promoted to associate editor of the STS list and then full editor of the STS and MIT & Regional lists. Head here if you’d like to learn more about some of the books I acquired at MITP.
I have a BA in English Lit from Michigan State and an MA in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College in Boston. My last name is pronounced “hell-key,” but I don’t care if you mess it up. My pronouns are she, her, and hers.
The opinions expressed on this site reflect my own thinking (mostly, and except where noted)—and not that of my employer, my colleagues acquiring other lists at OUP, or how editors at other presses may approach publishing. I will aim to update this site if my thinking changes and as best practices evolve in the industry and at my place of employment. If anything on this site seems outdated, unclear, or just plain wrong, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.